Sheriff seeks leads in rural Vacaville homicide case

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Robert Thomas III, 47 of Fairfield was killed last July and his body found after firefighters extinguished a structure fire in the 6700 block of Pleasants Valley Road, in the unincorporated area of Vacaville.

Detail of the tattoo on the back of homicide victim, Robert Thomas III.

The Solano County Sheriff’s Office is asking the public for help to solve the homicide of a Fairfield man whose body was found among the remains of a structure fire near Vacaville last summer.

Just after 3:30 a.m. on Tuesday July 9, 2014, the Solano County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call reporting a structure fire at the Mercier Grapevine Nursery in the 6700 block of Pleasants Valley Road in an unincorporated area near Vacaville.

Firefighters were able to extinguish the structure fire before it could spread to surrounding buildings and nearby residential homes.

While crews were getting the fire under control, they found the remains of a man lying near a shed.

After weeks of following up on numerous tips from the public, investigators identified the victim as Robert Thomas III, 43, of Fairfield in mid-July. His death was ruled a homicide by investigators.

Thomas was known to family as “Junie” and his friends knew him as “Big June,” according to the sheriff’s office. He had a distinct tattoo on his back of a pit bull smoking a cigar.

Thomas often traveled on his bicycle and was known to frequent several areas of Fairfield including Allan Witt Park, Lee Bell Park, Talk N Win and the area of East Tabor Ave. around Jack in the Box, according to the sheriff’s office.

Detectives are asking anyone with information regarding Thomas’ death, or his activities in the weeks prior to the discovery of his body, to contact the Solano County Sheriff’s Office Investigations Bureau at 784-7050 or Solano County Sheriff’s Office Dispatch at 421-7090.

Callers may remain anonymous by calling Crime Stoppers at 644-STOP or 644-7867.

There is also now a reward of up to $1,000 for information that results in an arrest in this case.